Howick and Pakuranga Times : Howick and Pakuranga Times, Monday, November 25, 2013

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8 --- Howick and Pakuranga Times, Monday, November 25, 2013
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By DAVID MCPHERSON
THIRD-year teacher Allistair
Williamson has had a hectic
and successful year.
The Pakuranga College physi-
cal education teacher was, on
November 14, acknowledged at the
Auckland branch of the Physical
Education New Zealand (PENZ)
awards for his contribution to the
wider PE community, including a
six-part programme he developed
for frst-year teachers.
As a new teacher, Mr William-
son found there were a number of
issues in making the move from
university to the workplace.
“Setting up a classroom for the
frst time, writing reports, meet-
ing parents, making use of feed-
back, and marking and moderating
NCEA were among the things I
identifed,” says Mr Williamson.
As a result, in conjunction with
the University of Auckland and
Auckland PENZ, he set-up and ran
a pilot graduate mentoring pro-
gramme this year for 16 new PE
teachers in Auckland.
“It was a six-module programme
aimed to support the transition
from university to the frst year of
teaching PE.
“It’s based on the needs I identi-
fed, so it’ll work for some and not
for others.”
The programme has been picked
up by PENZ and will be rolled out
on the North Shore next year.
“It’s about supporting PE teach-
ers in their frst year in the class-
room,” says Mr Williamson.
“Next year, I will co-facilitate the
programme with one of the teach-
ers who completed it this year.
“Then I will step away and let
new teachers run it. That will keep
it relevant as a bridging tool.”
Mr Williamson’s contribution to
the college was recognised earlier
this year when he received the Out-
standing New Professional Award
at the PENZ conference.
Principal Michael Williams
says: “Allistair is in his third year
of teaching at Pakuranga College
and an outstanding member of the
health and physical education fac-
ulty staff.
“As a frst-year teacher, he made
a very impressive start to his career
– a very professional, dependable
individual, who established excel-
lent learning-focused relationships
with his students.
“His level 1 NCEA class per-
formed exceptionally well, with
results at excellence outstripping
national averages by more than 26
per cent; very impressive for a frst-
year teacher,” says Mr Williams.
“In his second year, Allistair took
on the challenge of exploring a new
pedagogy in physical education and
‘Flipped the Classroom’.
“This adventurous approach saw
him produce online lessons for his
students and bring the ‘practical’
back into PE.
“This has proven to be extremely
popular with students and contin-
ued to produce outstanding results
at NCEA levels 1 and 2 at the col-
lege,” says Mr Williams.
“He has openly shared his expe-
riences and expertise with others
in the faculty and wider school
community.
“His online lessons have been
viewed by more than 51,600 people
from all over the world.”
Mr Williams also praised Mr
Williamson’s commitment to the
sports programme at the college
and his achievements as coach
of four hockey teams – Auckland
under-15 girls, Pakuranga College
girls, and two at Howick Pakuranga
Hockey Club, where he also plays
for the men’s premier team and
sometimes flls in for the premier
reserves.
Next year, Mr Williamson has
the added challenge of co-ordinat-
ing e-learning at the college.
“The year 9s will lead the way
with Bring Your Own Device
[BYOD] in 2014. My role is to help
engage students and support the
teacher with the new method,”
says Mr Williamson.
“Young people are very good
socially using technology. The key
is to switch them into learning
mode.
“At the end of the day, e-learning
is just another method of learning.
It’s an exciting time.”
Pakuranga College has had a dig-
ital class since 2009, but 2014 will
be the frst time a whole year will
be connected.
As summer approaches, Mr Wil-
liamson is looking forward to a
well-earned rest.
“The joy of doing so much is
really enjoying the time off.”
Born and raised in Howick and
Whitford, Mr Williamson gradu-
ated from the Auckland College of
Education in 2010 after complet-
ing a four-year bachelor of physical
education degree.
“I then had to complete two
years of teaching to become regis-
tered, so you could say it was a six-
year degree.”
Out of his class of 32, only seven
got jobs.
“I’d been a student teacher at
Pakuranga and feel fortunate to be
here.”
AT WORK: Motivated teacher Allistair Williamson, left, coaching swimming to
year 9 students at Pakuranga College.
Times photo David McPherson
Innovation the key
to future learning